Machine for affixing stamps



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

W. L. DINSMOOR. MACHINE FOR AFFIXING STAMPS.

No. 546,588. Patented Sept. 17, 1895.

INVENTOH WITNESSES:

ANDRE" BsRAnAM. Pno-mumuwAsm ucmmuc 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

W L DINSMOOR V MACHINE FOR AFFIXING STAMPS. v

Patented Sept. 17, 189.5.

-INVEN7'0R WITNESSES I I, I 1

A TTOHNEYS.

nmnom ummwummmyc NITED STAT S" PATENT Enron.

.WINFIELD L. DINSM( )OR, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

MACHINE FOR AFFI X ING 'STAM PS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 546,588, dated September 17, 1895. Application filed May 11, 1895. 5 m,. 548,938. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WINFIELD L. DINS- MOOR, of Portland, in the county of Mult'nomah and State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Machine for Stamping Letters and other Parcels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a machine especially adapted for applying stamps to envelopes and other packages to be mailed; and the object of the invention is to provide a machine simple, durable, and economic in its construction and capable of being operated by one hand, leaving theother hand of the operator free for the; manipulation of the packages to be stamped.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the stamping-machine that a large.

number of stamps may be stored Within the machine and fed out one by one, moistened,

and applied to a package.

The invention consists in the novel con-' struction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth,

and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indi-' cate corresponding parts in all the figures.

a longitudinal vertical section through the machine. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the water or moistening cup, and Fig. 6 is a horizontal:

section taken practically on the line 6 6 of Fig.4.

In carrying out the invention the casing of the machine comprises a body A and a base B, the base andbody being connected by a connecting-bar 10, and between the base and the body a spaceill is made, which extends out through the edge opposite that at which the connecting-bar 10 is located. The body A of the casing is provided with a single chamber, and the casing and base may be, and preferably are, made in two sections, secured together by screws or other fastening devices. The base is covered at the top by a table 12, and ways are constructed on the top of'the base upon which the said table may slide. This table is given a cushioned upper surfacel13,-as shown in Figs. 1 and at, and a spring 14 is secured to the table, preferably at its outer end, the inner end of the spring being attached to the base, and the said spring acts to force the table inward, so that its inner end will engage with the inner face of the connecting-bar 10 of the casing. Upon the lower face of the said table 12 a tongue 15 is secured, which extends from a point near its inner end in direction of the outer end of the table, as shown best in Fig. 4; and the said ftable. is furthermore provided with a handle '16, preferably secured at one side and extending beyond what may be termed the rear of the casing, terminating in a knob or its equivalent. A chamber is made in the base B,in which a cup17 is introduced, the cup being adapted to contain water, as shown in Fig. 4. Within this cup a lever 18 is fulcrnmed at or near one' of its ends, and the lever normally rests upon a cushioned bar 19 in the bottom portion ,of the cup, being held firmly in engagement with the cushion on said bar by means of a spring 21, which is usually coiled around the :pivot-20 of the lever. end of this lever a receptacle 22 is secured,

At the inner or lower preferably open at the top, the front and rear ends, and a portion of the bottom, and a sponge 23 is secured in this receptacle, being held between the side plates thereof, or any equivalent of the sponge may be employed. The

cushion on'the bar has its top surface sub- :stantially on a level with the water, so as to :absorb a portion 'ofthe water and transfer the moisture thus absorbed to the absorbent 1 material in the receptacle 22. Thus it will be see'nthat the material inthe receptacle 22 will'not come in direct contact with the body the said tongue the sponge or other moistening material at the inner end of the said lever is elevated and made to pass up from the base. A drum 2& is mounted to revolve in the upper portion of the body-chamber A and may be turned at will from the exterior of the chamber through the medium of a button 24 or like device attached to the spindle of the drum. A tape 25 made up of stamps is wound upon this drum, the said line of stamps being constructed by tearing the stamps in single rows from the sheet in which they come and connecting the ends of the rows.

The roll of stamps on the drum is engaged by a friction-roller 26, mounted on a springshank, being attached to a support 26. Beneath the roll or drum of stamps a wheel 27 is mounted to revolve in the bottom portion of the body-chamber A, and this wheel is provided with peripheral teeth 28, located at such intervals apart that the teeth will enter the perforations between the stamps, since the tape of stamps after leaving the tensionroller 26 is passed around the wheel 27, and the lowermost stamp is adapted to extend partially out through an opening 29 in the bottom of the body-chamber, as shown in Fig. 4, being guided to the said opening by a spring throat-plate 30, slotted for the passage of the pins 28 of the guide-wheel. A springguard 31 is secured in the casing in front of and preferably above the said wheel 27, and this spring-guard extends downward along the front peripheral portion of the wheel, engaging with the stamps and holding them in place, tension being applied to the said springguard by a door 34:, closing an opening in the front edge of the casing through which the stamps are introduced to be placed on the drum. The hinge of the said door, or any equivalent projection, engages with the spring-guard 31 when the door is closed, and a suitable lock 35 is provided for the said door. A plunger 32 is held to slide in the body A of the casing back of the wheel 27, the said plunger being adapted to travel out through the bottom of the body of the easing immediately in front of the opening 29, through which the stamps pass, and the plunger may be forced downward sufficiently far to engage with the cushion 13 of the table 12. The plunger is held normally within the body of the casing through the medium of a spring 33, which is placed under tension when the plunger is forced downward. A lever 36, preferably a yoke-lever, is made to straddle the casing at the rear, and the said lever is pivoted to the casing at its forward end, being provided at its rear end with a hook 36 or other form of handle, and this lever is held normally in an upper inclined position through the medium of a spring 37, attached to the casing and also to a cross-bar 37, extending from one member of the lever to the other, being passed through curved slots 38 made in the sides of the casing, and when this lever 36 is depressed the connecting-bar 37 will engage with the top of the plunger 32 and force said plunger down.

The connecting-bar 37 is provided with an arm 37*, extending downward from one of its ends, and the lower end of this extension or arm 37" is curved or bent upon itself to form a dog, and enters a slot 39 made in one side of the casing, as shown in Fig. 3, this dog portion of the lever-arm 37 being adapted to enter any one of a number of recesses 40 made in the outer face of the wheel 27, the said recesses being more or less inclined, and each time that the lever 36 is forced downward its attached dog will pass over the inclined portion of the stamp-carrying wheel, and the wheel will be free to turn. \Vhcn, however, the lever is carried upward by its spring 37, the dog, striking the squared or straight portion of the recess 10, will rotate the wheel in a direction to carry the next stamp to the opening 20 in the casing. A detent 41 is employed to hold the wheel stationary when the machine is not in use.

In the operation of this machine the lever 36 is pressed down, for example, with the thumb of the right hand. The fingers of the same hand dropping naturally downward will be enabled to grasp the handle 16 of the table. Before manipulating the lever 36 the handle is forced outward, whereupon the sponge or moistening device located in the water-compartment of the base will be carried upward to engage with the gummed surface of the stamp, which will be faced downward and immediately beneath the plunger 32. The handle 16 being released the table will return to its normal position, whereupon the lever 36 is forced downward, carrying the plunger 32 with it, and the front edge of the plunger, which is provided with serrations or teeth 32, as the plunger moves downward will cut the stamp from the one with which it is connected, and the plunger will then press the moistened stamp upon the letter or package, which has previously been placed on the table 12 beneath the plunger.

It is obvious that with a machine constructed as above set forth the stamping of packages or of letters may be expeditiously and conveniently accomplished.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patcut-- 1. In a machine for stamping packages, a plunger, a lever operating the same, a table located beneath the plunger,means, substantially as shown and described, for moving the said table from beneath the plunger, and a moistening lever operated by the movement of the table, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a device for stamping packages, a spring-controlled plunger, a sliding table located below the plunger, a stamp-feeding device operated simultaneously with the upward movement of the plunger, and a moistening device independent of the plunger and operated from the said table, as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a machine for stamping packages, a spring-controlled plunger, a lever operating the same, a stamp feeding device operated from the said lever, the stamps being fed to the said plunger and beneath the same, a cutting surface formed on the said plunger, a vertically movable moistening device, and a movable table with which the plunger is adapted to contact, a movement of said table imparting motion to the moistening device, as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a machine for stamping packages, a spring-controlled plunger, a lever operating the same, a stamp-feeding device operated from the said lever, the stamps being fed to the said plunger and beneath the same, a cutting surface formed on the said plunger,a table having sliding movement below the plunger, a spring-controlled lever provided with moistening material, and an extension from the table adapted for contact with the lever when the table is moved outwardly, causing the moistening material to be carried upward substantially to an engagement with the bottom of the plunger, as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a device for stamping envelopes and other packages, the combination, with a spring-controlled plunger, a 'lever operating the same, a stamp-carrying'wheel, and a dog operated by the said lever and operating the said wheel, the wheel being adapted to feed the stamps carried thereby to the bottom of the plunger, of a water receptacle located beneath the plunger, a table mounted to slide on the said receptacle, a lever located in the said water receptacle, being provided with moistening material, and an extension from the table, adapted for engagement with the said lever, to elevate the moistening material thereof when the table is forced outward, as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a device for stamping envelopes and the like, the combination, with feeding mechanism, of a water receptacle, a moistening de vice comprising absorbent material movable into and out of the said receptacle and apart supporting an absorbent material in said water receptacle, serving to supply moisture to the movable absorbent material and also serving as a stop to limitthe downward movement of said first named absorbent material, substantially as described.

WINFIELD L. DINSMOOR.

Witnesses:

R. B. VIRTUE, A. S. RosENrHAL. 

